Bill (Guard)
Bill first appeared in Rocksteady Game's Batman: Arkham Asylum in August 2009. Biography Bill is a security guard at Arkham Asylum, one of the many present during the Joker's takeover of the asylum. Little is known of his past or career, except that he was an acquaintance of Eddie Burlow and survived a brutal attack by serial killer and Arkham inmate Victor Zsasz. Background After Victor Zsasz's personal therapist Sarah Cassidy left Arkham to get away from her murderous patient, she was replaced by Dr. Gretchen Whistler. Zsasz had a fixation on Cassidy and had already marked her as his next victim. His obsession led to unsatisfactory sessions with Dr. Whistler. Due to heightened concerns over Zsasz's deteriorating mental state, Arkham administrator Quincy Sharp insisted that Whistler could not be left alone with him. Bill and two other guards were present for their therapy sessions. Zsasz remained increasingly unresponsive during Whistler's interviews. Following one particularly unproductive exchange, Bill attempted to return Zsasz to his cell, but the latter revealed he had a knife and began stabbing him. Zsasz was placed in solitary confinement for a week following the attack. At some undisclosed point, Bill return to his duties at Arkham. The extent of his injuries from his encounter with Zsasz remains unknown. ''Batman: Arkham Asylum'' Bill was present as part of Arkham Asylum's swollen security detail when the Joker was recaptured and returned to the institution by Batman. Like most of the other security personnel, he was assigned an extra shift in the asylum Intensive Treatment Center due to the Joker's return and Killer Croc's simultaneous transfer. Bill is first mentioned by Eddie Burlow, who attempts to contact him on his radio to report the Joker's escape and a mass breakout engineered at the Intensive Treatment Center by Harley Quinn. The number of guards in the building was greatly reduced after the Joker sent out a fake radio message on all channels ordering them to report en masse to Arkham East; presumably, Bill was among these - he subsequently took up another post in the Arkham Mansion. This allowed the rampaging inmates to take control of Intensive Treatment, overpower the remaining staff, and get their hands on the weapons stored there. Unknown to Batman, the Joker had allowed himself to be returned to Arkham so he could steal the research of the asylum's head of research, Penelope Young. Dr. Young was modifying the steroid drug Venom drained from the villain Bane to create a stronger formula known as Titan. Young's trials, carried out under the pretense of isolating a miracle cure for psychosis, were secretly financed by the Joker through a front corporation. However, when she learned he was involved, she stopped the trials, compelling the supervillain to seize control of Arkham, locate the formula, and perfect it himself. As the asylum entered a state of armed siege, Young was the primary target of the Joker's thugs. She was initially captured and held hostage in the Arkham Medical Facility before being rescued by Batman. Armed with the knowledge that the Joker would no doubt go after the Titan formula, Young later went to her office in the Arkham Mansion escorted by senior guard Aaron Cash to retrieve her research notes. Shortly afterwards, the Joker's gang stormed the mansion, intent on recapturing Young. Cash initially told Young to hide in her office, but aware that this was the first place the Joker would search for her, she took her notes and fled to the library in the mansion's south wing with an army of thugs on her heels. Young fled to the library's lowermost level and floor into the room where Bill was at his post with an unidentified asylum orderly. She managed to hide her notes as the escaped inmates broke in after her. Bill attempted to fight back, but the inmates were too numerous and he was lacking in backup or a weapon. Dr. Young was taken prisoner, while Bill was beaten unconscious. He and the orderly were left tied to a mysterious purple present which they assumed was a bomb or a canister filled with Joker Toxin. They were left in the library, as the Joker seemed to have viewed them as irrelevant. Six inmates remained to guard them and search for Young's missing notes. Once he realized the Joker's real motives, Batman hurried to the mansion, equally determined to locate Young's research. After defeating the inmates in the library, he was informed by the Joker that all he had to do "was stroll downstairs and save some helpless hostages". The latter then activated an electrified barrier which prevented Batman from reaching the captives, mocking him. He then introduced his latest game: "Oh! How frustrating. Thought it was going to be easy, didn't you? Has tonight taught you nothing? In two minutes the room will fill with Happy Gas Toxin. The audience will be in fits of ecstasy. And then die!!" Throughout the countdown, the Joker continued taunting Batman as he struggled to find another way to reach both hostages in time. Bill and the orderly kicked furiously and struggled against their bonds, to no avail. Batman was finally able to break into the library's lower floor by destroying a chandelier, which crashed through the glass floor of the second level and into the room. He then entered through the opening, prepared to disarm the bomb; however, the large purple present only contained a ridiculously large boxing glove on a spring and dozens of joker playing cards. As the package sprang open, it released Bill and the orderly from their bonds. They informed Batman of Dr. Young's capture, which was the last thing Bill could recall: "I'm sorry. When I came to, we were all tied up. Doc Young was gone!" As the Joker boasted he was using Zsasz to interrogate Young, Bill also mentioned that he'd heard a voice on his radio requesting somebody meet at the warden's office, alerting Batman to Zsasz's whereabouts. Batman stopped Zsasz though Young was killed by a booby trap. The Dark Knight left the mansion to rescue the warden, who was being held in the island's cell block, while Bill remained with the orderly in the library. Batman has the option of returning later and informing them of Young's death; he also advises them to stay where they are. Some time later, Poison Ivy's mutated plants overran Arkham Island, trapping Bill in the library. After Arkham Asylum Incident He and the unidentified orderly both survived the chaos and returned to their normal duties following the Joker's defeat. Sessions with Victor Zsasz The following is the dialogue for audio recordings of Zsasz's therapy sessions for which Bill was present: Tape One (Patient Interview #1, November 22) *'Dr. Gretchen Whistler:' "Patient's name is Victor Zsasz. For the record, the patient has transferred from Dr. Cassidy, who is on leave after the incident last week. Hello, Victor. Please, take a seat. Guard, you can leave us." *'Bill:' "Sorry, Doctor. Warden's orders. I can't leave you alone with him." *'Dr. Gretchen Whistler:' "I understand. Hello, Victor. How are you feeling today?" *'Victor Zsasz:' "......" *'Dr. Gretchen Whistler:' "Victor, I can't help you if you don't speak." *'Victor Zsasz:' "Depressed! Does that help you? Can you get into my mind, Doctor?" *'Dr. Gretchen Whistler:' Why depressed?" *'Victor Zsasz:' "I'm just thinking about the one that got away Cassidy. The one I chose. I needed the mark...I want the mark!" Tape Two (Patient Interview #4, December 12) *'Dr. Gretchen Whistler:' "Victor has been more subdued recently. Response to medication has been poor." *'Victor Zsasz:' "Cutting...." *'Dr. Gretchen Whistler:' "Hello Victor, is there anything you'd like to talk about today?" *'Victor Zsasz:' "Cutting and cutting and cutting and cutting and cutting and cutting....." *'Dr. Gretchen Whistler:' "Victor!" *'Victor Zsasz:' "Cutting and cutting and cutting and cutting and cutting......" *'Dr. Gretchen Whistler:' "This is going nowhere. Guards, get him out of here!" *'Bill:' "You heard the doctor. Get up!" *'Victor Zsasz:' "Cutting and cutting and cutting and cutting and cutting......" *'Bill:' "Didn't you hear me?" *'Security Guard #2:' "He's got a knife!" (There is the sound of furniture overturning and a crash) *'Bill:' "Arrgghhh!!" *'Security Guard #2:' Get a tranq in him! Get a tranq in him! Oh, God! He's on Bill!" (Visible noises of a struggle in the background) *'Security Guard #3:' "He's cutting him! He's cutting him! Get him off! Get him off! We need help here!" Dialogue *''"Batman! We're tied up, we can't get out!"'' *''"Batman! Get us out of here!"'' *''"Help us!"'' *''"I heard a voice on one of the radios. It sounded like they were being told to meet in the warden's office."'' *''"Right. You're back. Any luck finding Doctor Young?"'' *''"God. I can't believe Doctor Young is dead, too."'' Notes/Trivia *The player can choose whether to save Bill and the orderly in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Since the Joker is faking a timer, and the mysterious present is an ersatz bomb, the player can choose not to save Bill and the orderly during the Joker's desired time limit, and the villain will simply laugh when the time runs out and claims he is "only kidding". *If the player chooses not to proceed downstairs and see the hostages, but instead crawls into the ventilation shaft to begin saving them, the Joker comments that Batman is trying to "read the last page first" and starts the countdown anyway. *If the player tries to leave the Library during either the countdown or exactly after the fight with the inmates on the second level, the Joker remarks, "Oh, leaving the party so soon? What about the other guests? They'll just die if you don't turn up and save the day." *When Batman is about to leave the library after destroying Dr. Young's notes, Scarecrow begins pumping Fear Gas into the room through the ventilation system. The gas can be observed emanating from two vents at the library's main entrance. Although the toxin caused Batman to enter a hallucinatory state, what remains unclear is whether it affected Bill and the orderly as well. If Batman returns to the area after recovering his senses, neither are displaying any ill side effects. Gallery File:Library Bill folded1.jpg File:Bill Second Dialogue1.jpg File:BillArkham1.PNG File:Bill Library Wait1.jpg File:BillArkham3.PNG File:Bill4.PNG File:Ark MansBill (Guard) 02.jpg Category:Batman: Arkham Asylum Characters Category:Arkham Asylum Staff